I read this in a post recently and was relieved to see someone FINALLY articulate something about which I'd strongly felt for so long. Religion simply implies something you do over and over again. It's prescriptive. It says you must do this and this and this. For instance, you can brush your teeth religiously just as you can go to church religiously. That's why a certain set doctorine is called a religion. It's prescriptive. Faith, on the other hand, is what one believes. In Christian...

A talking head was being interviewed on the PBS coverage of the convention. I wish I had gotten the guy’s name, though if I listen to talk radio tomorrow, I’m sure it will be covered. He was asked about what issues democrats are covering. He said they were staying away from certain issues, naming three in particular. Two of the three he named were “gay marriage” and “gays.” He finished the sentence by saying they were going to try to cover economics and things that interested the American...

I thought about including this in the last article, but then I thought it would get out of hand. I researched for ideas I'd not thought of and some help in explaining pronunciation. I found people are as confused as I am. However, I did find some gold. I'm taking some Southern pronunciations form "The Southern Word" Link and eliminating the ones that are ludicrous or fixing the erroneous ones. Realize, my adaptations reflect my East Texan dialect and could be viewed as erroneous to ...

It's a fact. We all use phrases that are peculiar to our region and dialect. Amazing how even within the Amercian South, myriad dialects betray a speakers geography, quite like our UK neighbor's might. My article on proper "y'all" usage sparked a new idea. I take great joy in learning new phrases and clever ways of saying things. No, not for shock value, per se , but for the joy I get out of mastering a new phrase and incorperating its color into my speech. Yeah. I'm a nerd. Big deal. It...

Anyone who’s spent anytime on my site knows I’m a proud Southerner, ready to share the richness of our heritage. Something I’ve been meaning to write on is the amazing word “Y’all.” My daughter is watching an episode of Scooby-Doo that has a ghost of a confederate soldier in it right now. The ghost used the word “y’all.” He used it incorrectly. Now that just grates under my skin. It made me think some instruction on the word’s proper usage might be in order. “Y’all” is a contraction o...

I am constantly surprised by how many people call Jesus Christ a “great moral teacher” and stop there. He is often called an enlightened philosopher, a worthy prophet, and many other praise-filled things whereupon the speaker abruptly stops. The speaker stops short of calling him God in the flesh, Savior, Messiah, or any of the other more miraculous titles he is given. I think this is simply absurd. For one, how can anyone contemplate Christ’s teachings or fully seek to study and unde...

"The Truth is never sexy," sings Derek Webb, the current artist in my CD player. I've thought about it and I have to agree with him. When is truth ever seductive? It's rarely even attractive for one. We describe truth as "hard to tell" at times. We easily slip into the seduction of a lie, though. Truth never makes polite conversation and small talk. It doesn't curtsey. It never apologizes. It speaks plainly, not with great sophistication, beauty, or seduction. What about the truth is so ...

A pregnant woman is thrown into a dungeon. The dungeon is circular, stretching upwards to the sky where only a small patch of sky is visible. A small slot allows food and water in. Her child is born in the dungeon and grows there. The woman is an artist and teaches her child everything she can using her sketch pad and pencils. She draws for him the outside world and educates him about the trees, rivers, valleys, sea, mountains, prairies, canyons, and all the natural wonders of the outside...

Do we really go to God for forgiveness? Or do we all too often bring him reasons why He should excuse us? An excuse is not the same thing as forgiveness; if there is an excuse, we don't need forgivenes. We say, "I know I did wrong, God, but you know I was late for work..." or "The kids were really grouchy..." or "that guy hates me though..." or "I didn't know this would happen...." These are excuses for behavior. I think we often have some good excuses. But more often, there is real...

Just a prayer philosophy as I was reading my pal, Lewis, recently. In one address (recorded in The Weight of Glory ) he mentions a problem Christians face as they mature in their faith. We pray for all sorts of stuff. We put all sorts of things before Him. We believe He wants to help us and He wants to talk to us. But then we get off our knees before He has the chance to speak to us. We stop the meditation just shy of His word. We don't read our scriptures long enough to hear His take on...

I'm about to make my second trip to a developing country and WHOOO am I excited! And don't let this come across as one of those "oh, she goes to these developing countries, sees the tourist traps, and then feels somehow better that she's actually been to a developing country." Not one of those trips, my friend. (For my friends out there who are extremely right-wing, a developing country is what was formerly known as "third-world." ) This is the same country I went to before, so It's n...

I've been to church dinners with this one where a whole mess of us were supposed to bring Bananna pudding. Mine is always gone, despite bringing a great vat of it. Tried and proven! You'll need one can of eagle brand milk (or sweetened, condensed milk) One regular container of Whipped cream. One package of instant vanilla pudding mix (I use jello, of course) Nilla wafers (I use a box and a half. I highly recommend using 1 box regular and half box of new tiny wafers. For those of you w...

You know, as I wrote the article on the tomatoes, I found myself wanting to tell you to cook them to the color of a chicken fried steak. But then I heard you yanks saying, "what is a chicken fried steak?" You don't know what Sonic is either. Or that we have Dairy Queens, not DQs. But that's another matter, eh? Grab a tenderized beef steak from your market. Not too thick... look for the kind you'd pan fry. An okie I knew called them minute steaks. Then you wash them. Do your oil the sa...

I realize many of you are yanks and it cannot be helped. As a southerner, I feel compelled to entice you with the southern delicacy made famous by a film of its name: fried green tomatoes. I want to tell you how to make them properly so you won't be afraid to try them yourselves. Yes, you pick them green. Very green. And they need to be firm. Now slice them as thinly as you can. I think thinner is better. They need not be see-through. Don't get all Emeril on me. Just thin. Sprinkl...

I guess I've always been an optimist. People typically describe me as "bubbly" (a word I hate) but I am outgoing. Often, this is mistaken for shallowness. Those who know me best would never describe me as bubbly. They know that when I approach someone I don't know -- or anyone for that matter -- and try to get to know them it's because I really do care. I wear my emotions on my sleeves; never been good at hiding them. In high school a girl asked me why I was so happy all the time. (I miss...